


It Used to be a Yellow Box

by lionessvalenti



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cereal, Gen, Late Night Conversations, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:54:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/pseuds/lionessvalenti
Summary: They all responded to stress in different ways. Sam slept it off. Steve and Natasha were restless.
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14
Collections: Writing Rainbow Yellow





	It Used to be a Yellow Box

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GirlOfSaltAndStars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlOfSaltAndStars/gifts).



When Steve walked down the stairs to the kitchen, he wasn't surprised to see Natasha sitting on the counter with a bowl of cereal.

They all responded to stress in different ways. Sam slept it off. Steve and Natasha were restless. 

Safe houses, despite the name, were hardly safe, and it was hard to find ones that were completely off the grid. Almost everything was burnt. There was a plan. There was the bare bones idea of a plan. Steve couldn't stop planning, and that's how he found himself walking to the kitchen at two in the morning.

"Hey." Nat set the bowl down precariously in her lap, balancing it carefully on her knee. One wrong move and it was going to be Grape Nuts all of the floor. Steve had hated Grape Nuts even when he was a kid, but maybe she ate them on purpose no one would steal her food. She was assertive like that, even when she didn't need to be.

She picked up a second bowl from beside her and held it out. "I didn't put milk in it. I didn't want it to be soggy."

Steve smiled as he took it from her, two blocky rectangles of Shredded Wheat sitting in the bottom of the bowl. "Thanks."

He hopped up onto the counter next to her and broke up the cereal into the bowl. It was a satisfying feeling, making his own bite sized pieces. Like his distastes for Grape Nuts, his love for this deep satisfaction ran deep from childhood. It was weirdly comforting, breaking up wheat blocks. Like he was safe again.

It used to come in a yellow box. Now, the box was blue. Everything's always changing.

After the milk was poured, they sat in silence, thighs bumping against each other, and ate their food.

Natasha finished first, since she started first. She set her bowl aside and rested her head on Steve's shoulder."We're doing the right thing, yeah?"

"I can't decide that for you," Steve replied. "My option is to turn myself in. Your options are a lot more varied. Even Sam could cut a deal if he wanted to, like Scott and Clint did."

"No, he wouldn't. He's in it with you. Ride or die."

Steve smiled to himself. He knew that. It was nice knowing that. Natasha, for however well they knew each other, was always going to be a wildcard. She'd proven it the second Steve thought he knew how she would react to the Accords. Now, he knew better than to think he knew what was going on in her head.

"I think it's the right thing," Natasha said softly. "I have to make sure you don't do anything stupid. Even if we both know that's not actually going to happen."

"I'm glad you have my back." 

"Yeah, me too."

Steve took a bite of still-crunchy cereal. It was a race against time, eating it all before it got soggy. But he was good at races.


End file.
